The UK's Unique Brand of Travel Chaos Is Upending Recovery Efforts

Overstretched airports and nationwide rail strikes this week are slamming the brakes on the UK’s economic recovery and causing a blow to the country’s reputation, experts have warned.

Passengers are already becoming jaded, wary of flying due to airline delays and cancelations across the globe, but the recent wave of travel disruption across the UK looks set to deter business travelers.

Widely circulated pictures of a mountain of unclaimed luggage on social media probably wasn’t the image Heathrow Airport wanted the world to see this week, but it’s the latest in a series of incidents that also included the death of a passenger while disembarking at Gatwick Airport.

Heathrow this week asked airlines to cap flights to catch up with delays caused by a technical glitch with its baggage system. It compounds problems for the UK’s largest airport, following a stalled recovery in March due to concerns from U.S. travelers over war in Europe and rising air fares. Gatwick also asked airlines to